Arsenal suffered a familiar frustration for Mikel Arteta as they were held to a 1-1 draw with Fulham on Sunday. This is the 7th time they have lost points in 15 Premier League games this season. They are six points worse than at the same stage last season.
It was difficult to accept, especially considering his team was so dominant. “We deserved the win from start to finish,” Arteta said. Fulham scored from one of only two shots. The total of three touches inside the opposition box was the lowest in the Premier League this season.
Meanwhile, Arsenal had 66% of possession and created more than the expected two-goal chances, but failed to add William Saliba’s close-range equalizer, and Bukayo Saka’s late header against Gabriel Martinelli was ruled out by VAR.
Ultimately, the failure to add a second meant Arsenal missed the chance to move to within four points of Liverpool. The result also highlighted some of their problems this season.
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Highlights of the draw between Arsenal and Fulham
Defensive injuries and instability
A stable defense was the foundation of Arsenal’s title challenge last season. William Saliba played every minute of the game. There has been some confusion at left-back, but Saliba’s centre-back partner Gabriel Magalhaes has missed just two games. Right defender Ben White missed just one.
This season was different. The draw at Craven Cottage was the third Premier League game in the last seven games in which Arsenal were without their starting centre-back pairing, with Saliba previously serving a suspension and Gabriel nursing an injury.
The problem was more pronounced at full-back. Oleksandr Zinchenko rejoined Riccardo Calafiori, White and Takehiro Tomiyasu for the game against Fulham following his recent injury. Jurrien Timber and Myles Lewis-Skelly also missed the game.
Zinchenko’s absence meant a reshuffle on Sunday, with Thomas Partey moving to right-back and Timber replacing him at left-back. Along with centre-backs Saliba and Jakub Kiwior, they make up Arsenal’s ninth back four in 15 Premier League games this season.
This is more than he played in 38 games last season.
Arsenal’s makeshift defensive line was largely unchallenged by Fulham. But the impact of the defensive injuries could be seen in the opening goal, when Kiwior, possibly Arteta’s seventh centre-back if everyone is fit, was easily overpowered by Raul Jimenez.
Arteta may have had that in mind when he spoke of the Premier League’s “small margins” after the game.
The full-back upheaval was detrimental offensively as well.
For example, against Fulham, Arsenal, with a right footer on the left and a natural central midfielder on the right, never managed to deliver their usual threat down the wing and it showed.
Bukayo Saka has been relatively quiet, but due to his lack of support, Second Spectrum tracking data shows Partey has made just one overlapping run in all games. The same was true at the other end where the Timbers only provided one overlapping run to the winger.
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Dermot Gallagher makes a big decision during Arsenal and Fulham’s draw
These runs from the outside are invaluable in drawing defenders away from the wingers, but they are not part of Partey’s game and are also awkward for the right-footed Timbers when playing on the left. This ultimately hampered Arsenal’s attacking threat and made it easier for Fulham to defend their flanks effectively.
Lack of open play creativity?
Sunday’s match was the latest in which Arsenal showed great threat from set-pieces. Saliba’s equalizer was his 23rd goal from a corner since the start of last season and the Gunners missed several scoring opportunities due to dead ball situations.
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Watch all of Arsenal’s corner goals this year
But Arteta explained in his pre-match press conference his determination to be “the king of everything”, not just corners, and the numbers show he is lacking in other areas.
Arsenal had 0.47 expected goals from corners against Fulham, and that figure was only slightly higher in Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Manchester United.
Against Ruben Amorim’s side, it wasn’t a problem. Arsenal were able to score two goals from unanswered corners. Arteta would also argue that the two sides are linked given the corners and free kicks required for set-piece opportunities that arise from open play dominance.
But these numbers have raised some alarm among fans. Arsenal are the most effective team in the Premier League when it comes to creating scoring chances from set-pieces, but they rank poorly in the second half of the season when it comes to expected goals from open play.
It’s not where they want to be, but context matters. In addition to defensive injuries affecting their rhythm, Arsenal have also had to cope without their key producer in Martin Odegaard for around half of their Premier League games due to injury.
Martin Odegaard has revealed his frustration with Fulham.
Their fluency has suffered without him, and their overall numbers have also been skewed as a result of playing long stretches with 10 men against Brighton, Manchester City and Bournemouth earlier this season.
Arsenal’s squad looks light in attack, especially with Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling struggling to make a positive impact. But Arsenal recorded a club record number of goals last season and Arteta will be hoping that a clearer injury list can help them return to that level.
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Gayle Davis and Sam Blitz reflect on Arsenal’s draw against Fulham.
The concern is that with Liverpool and Chelsea accumulating points at the current rate, there will be too much room to make up for any further mistakes in the meantime.
No schedule disruptions
Alleviating Arsenal’s injury problems is also not guaranteed. In fact, their schedule increases the risk of further disruption as the Gunners are scheduled to play four games in 11 days, starting with a Champions League tie against Monaco on Wednesday.
The inevitable knock-on effect of injuries is that other players have to play more minutes than planned. For example, the Timbers have started 10 straight games, and the lack of alternatives means his appearances are likely to continue. This is a burden for a player returning from a serious knee injury in the summer.
Rotation will be needed where possible as Arsenal adjust their Champions League and Premier League fixtures and face Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals next week. But the need for silverware is such that competition should not be taken lightly.
If there’s one positive, it’s that their upcoming fixture list looks kinder in terms of opponents, if not quantity of matches, than in the opening month of the campaign. Arsenal have played many of their toughest matches during that period.
They do not currently face a top six side in their next five Premier League matches. Travels to Brentford and Brighton in January won’t be easy, but their next away game against a top six side won’t be until they travel to fifth-placed Nottingham Forest on February 25.
Arteta will hope to have moved Arsenal closer to the Premier League summit by then. But a lot depends on the players they have available. Sunday’s draw with Fulham was a reminder that there is little room for error.
